


A Question of Rank

by TelepathJeneral



Series: Demands of Empire [4]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: this is beginning to devolve from its original starting point, what a wacky AU we've got here
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-04
Updated: 2019-12-29
Packaged: 2020-01-04 14:56:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18345971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TelepathJeneral/pseuds/TelepathJeneral
Summary: A brief mention of suicide, no more than a single line.





	1. Chapter 1

Wilhuff can feel her attention, sharp and keen. It is so much like her father’s, and he is surprised by the similarities. Then again, Leia has continually surprised him, sometimes merely by the fact of her existence rather than by any great accomplishment.

As a child, she had brooded darkly at the corners of rooms, clearly resenting Palpatine’s treatment but unwilling or unable to resist. There was so much of Vader in her, the anger and rage contained in a body much too small for it. Wilhuff had kept his distance, stayed well away, and thus been surprised when she began to speak with a clear, elegant assurance and confidence in the world around her.

It has taken years, but at last they have come to this. Vader has not accompanied her this time, and Leia is a lone girl now stationed on the deck of Wilhuff’s Star Destroyer. The thought boggles his mind. And yet when he turns, watching her from the corner of his eye, she meets his gaze with cool confidence, attired and positioned like any other Imperial officer.

No, she is not a girl any longer. She is a young woman. Still younger than Academy recruits, and her uniforms have to be customized beyond normal specifications. Still, she wears them with the dignity of any officer, and Wilhuff finds himself looking away to consider the situation with some trepidation.

She is going to be observing him. Following his footsteps, noting each of his actions. Palpatine had explained it was for her benefit, to have her learn the methods of the army and commanders, but Wilhuff cannot avoid the paranoia. Perhaps she is reporting back, however surreptitiously.

Oh, why was this never a concern with Vader?

Wilhuff moves through the deck with more speed than is usual, driven by irritation. He should not be thinking of Vader. He should be thinking of Leia. Leia, quiet enough to be overlooked and intelligent enough to draw conclusions from the bare minimum of data.

Data….

The thought draws him to the tactical table, and he pulls out a datapad before bringing up a list of information. With a movement, Leia comes to his side, and he hands her the datapad without looking at her.

“Learn the names on this list. Do your research, and give me a summary on their roles and relative importance by this time tomorrow.”

Leia says nothing for a moment, but tucks the datapad under her arm and straightens to Imperial standards once more. “TaggeCo controls several operations, reaching from the Mid-Rim to some of the edges of wild space. Most of their upper leadership hold positions within the Empire, and the Empire is impressed by their ability to coordinate corporate goals with Imperial aims. SSR is smaller but no less important—where TaggeCo has focused on mining, SSR provides the supplies and factories for data networks and systems. The saying is that SSR built Coruscant, one way or another. They have been less cooperative with Imperial edicts, but their services are important enough that they deserve full attention, and the Empire hopes to encourage profitable discussion with them in future. NyaTech—”

“Yes, fine.” Wilhuff holds up a hand, looking at Leia properly. Her face is still blank, no smile or frown quirking her lips, but her eyes glitter, and Wilhuff is forced to wait a moment before he can continue without reacting himself. “Your point is made.”

“I wasn’t making a point, sir.”

“If you think Palpatine lets you get away with that, then you’re sorely mistaken.” Wilhuff straightens, facing her with all the majesty of his full height. “Perhaps I should then ask you: why do I, an Imperial moff, have a list of these names available in my tactical rooms?”

“You are a moff.” Leia nods deferentially. “Sir.” Wilhuff notes, however, that her tone is not free of irony, and tries not to find it amusing. “You are, in the end, a civilian authority. Tracking the movements of civilian corporations is not only easier for a man like you, but is more appropriate. The Emperor must be proud to have—”

“I don’t need a toady, Ensign.” Though her actual status is unclear, Palpatine has given her the rank of ‘ensign’ for this little experiment, and it does help Wilhuff assert himself.

By the Siblings, he never imagined having to _assert_ himself to a teenage girl.

“And why do _I_ ¸ High Moff Wilhuff Tarkin, have them?” Less information, not more. Let her work some of this out for herself.

And indeed, Leia does hesitate this time. Her eyes flick to the floor, her concentration evident, but Wilhuff waits until she meets his gaze again and attempts an answer.

“Because you care about who comes into and goes out of your sectors. You could probably identify these corporations and their ships by sight alone, but you also track the raw data, shipping estimates, possible smuggling operations, the—” She exhales quickly, twitching slightly as she resumes. “You monitor the military aspects alongside the economic, the social, and the political. You must balance their influence, one way or another.”

Well, it isn’t the most elegant speech he’s ever heard, but it is satisfactory. Wilhuff smiles, and he is surprised in turn—amused, perhaps?—to see Leia take an involuntary step back. “Not all of your education has been a waste, it seems, Ensign.”

She is not quite deft enough to respond to the insult or the compliment, and so she remains silent, allowing Wilhuff to turn and lead her out of the tactical room and into the corridors of his ship. She will have plenty of time to learn everything she needs to, but that is no reason to delay. Her schedule will be just as rigorous as his own, and twice as complex.

For once, Wilhuff finds himself _hoping_ that they encounter a fight, if only to see how Leia reacts.


	2. Chapter 2

The ships screamed as they accelerated, the sound disappearing in the vacuum of space but the whine of the engines loud enough in the ears of the pilots. The formation began as an elegant wedge, utilizing the space in huge arcs to come upon their prey like a hand scooping into water. As the ships met the first line of the pirate’s defenses, their wedge scattered, looping in fanciful circles around the edges of shields, between cannon shots, and through the gaps between enemy ships.

Wilhuff hated to admit that this part was _fun_ , but as a commander, he was allowed a few luxuries.

The pirates had gained strong footholds. A campaign against them would take months, perhaps years, and each battle was merely a tiny step in that campaign. But Wilhuff was learning to see victories where they arose. Take this battle: his ship was a perfectly functioning machine, a honed edge against the Empire’s enemies. His men had learned to trust him, and he them. He was no longer merely a politician, pretending at tactics or strategy. His talents had been shaped to his role, and he inspired the men while he paved the way forward. They would carve through the pirates, and then address the policies that had allowed the pirates to exist in the first place. Amputate the limb, and cauterize the wound.

It did make for a busy schedule, but that only made him all the more grateful for his staff. As Vader had shown him, the lieutenants and officers knew their work, and Wilhuff trusted them with a large part of the effort. Perhaps a more military moff would have taken a larger part in the planning. But Wilhuff was not a moff necessarily because of his military knowledge.

“Formation is tight, Governor.”

“As expected, Ensign.” The young woman, small though she was, had been placed on Wilhuff’s ship as a part of her education. She moved like a military man, she spoke like a Senator, and she watched events like a starving child. ‘Ensign’ was her current role, but she held much more, and Wilhuff was still uncertain of what it meant for him.

She was the child of Darth Vader, this Leia, and insofar as Wilhuff Tarkin had established a relationship with the Sith Lord, he felt a measure of responsibility for her wellbeing.

“I’m not hearing any updates on the command modules, are the engineers working on it?”

“Patience, Ensign. Adrenaline is going to change your perception of time.”

“We won’t be able to play tag with them all day!”

“ _Patience_.” Wilhuff leant into his tone, pleased to hear her quiet. She certainly had learned to speak her mind, though not always with the determination and ability of her father. However, she had apparently inherited his love of piloting, and Wilhuff watched from the viewports as her lead ship spun in a tight barrel roll.

The pirate’s ships were beginning to respond more dynamically than Wilhuff had expected. Their corvettes were turning, adjusting their angle, and Wilhuff frowned before he recognized the flashes of blue as shots hit the energy shields. Was it as simple as redirecting their shields? Wilhuff listened to his crew, their energy as the pilots continued their work and the engineers unjammed and rejammed transmissions, and focused again on the movement of the Imperial TIEs.

The wedge formation was like a fish in the water: he could see it at moments, reforming and dissolving again, and he begrudgingly acknowledged that Leia’s leadership was capable enough to maintain the organization. Her own channels were blinking on and off as she spoke, and Wilhuff switched over the channels to listen with interest to the chatter. It was lightning fast, in the odd patois of pilots with too many acronyms and abbreviations, but Wilhuff focused less on the meaning and more on the flow. Yes, Leia made her stand. She commanded with certainty. And yet she dominated the channel, more than Wilhuff had realized at first.

Her earlier quiet demeanor, on first coming into service on his ship, had melted away into this rapid-fire patter. Wilhuff considered the channels, listening to her orders growing ever more clipped and hurried, and finally he moved to a console to restrict her access to her squad channel.

“Ensign. Take your own team through the ships. Focus your attention only on the team you have.”

“Governor—wait, did you—“

“This isn’t time for discussion. Do as you’re ordered and keep moving.”

“Yes, sir.” With all the resentment a teenage girl could muster—and in fairness, Wilhuff had a vague memory of just how much resentment a teenager of any species or gender could contain—she obeyed, her team peeling away from the rest to begin diving at the rearguard of the pirate defenses. The Imperial ships were beginning to weaken, the TIEs splintering off at points, but they had the resources to spread across a wide field. The pirates were spread too thin, and Wilhuff relayed the order for the ship cannons to focus their aim. Shields were beginning to fail.

And then ships were disappearing. A corvette took off into hyperspace, and Wilhuff sucked in a breath as he considered the new dimensions. Another retreat meant that the pirates had another stronghold somewhere. Or perhaps they were reaching the limits of desperation. Some of the comms from the pirate channels had been deciphered, but Wilhuff couldn’t be certain of the data until it was properly scrubbed.

Too many variables. Too much information. Too much to consider.

Other ships were pulling away. Just as the Imperials had spread a wide field, the pirates were spreading it wider. And then, above the battle—Wilhuff hissed between his teeth, opening the console again to check Leia’s communications.

“Pull back, Ensign!”

“They’re retreating! We can come around and cut them off, take out the engines before they get to hyperspeed.”

“Pull _back_.”

“Governor, I can do this!”

“You might be able to do this, but your team can’t. Look behind you, Leia. Your men are going to fry in the backthrusts, not all of them are skilled enough to get to the engines in time. Pull back and return to the ISD.”

“But I—“

“That is an _order_.”

The silence in the midst of the battle was shocking, and Wilhuff was privately glad that the rest of the bridge couldn’t hear it. As he watched, the wedges lifted up again and reformed, TIEs finding their places in formations pockmarked with holes. He couldn’t be sure now of Leia’s ship, lost in the mass, but a clicking informed him that the channel remained open, and he finally heard her grunt as she rose above the battle.

“TIEs returning to dock, sir.”

“I’m transferring you back to Commander Fitten. We will debrief when you’ve returned and recovered.” With a terseness he did not entirely mean, Wilhuff closed the channel, straightening at his console to watch the Imperial ships return. He might have been ambitious, but he was not about to commit resources to a battle devolving like this. They would bide their time. The Empire could maintain pursuit, could take up the chase, and harass the pirates until they finally collapsed.

Leia had been pulled into the chase, but the chase of battle was not the chase of pursuit. She had become distracted. She hadn’t been able to remember the wider scope and had focused too close, and had almost gotten pulled in.

That didn’t mean she had failed. It didn’t make her a bad commander. Perhaps…selfish. Wilhuff frowned at the word, but it did apply. She had wrongly assumed that everyone could do the things she could, and had proceeded accordingly. Was it merely ignorance? Overconfidence? Or blind reliance on men she had known for less than a year?

Wilhuff hated this. Never before had he been conflicted about reprimanding an officer, and Leia should be no different. But she was still only a teenager, not even a full adult on many worlds, and these faults were natural aspects of immaturity.

Then again, reminding her of that would be the _last_ thing to do if he wanted to offer useful correction.

Putting the issue from his mind, Wilhuff focused on the return of the TIEs. Despite the apparent failure, the engineers had managed to get some data. It could be enough to reveal the details of the pirates’ operations. Every piece of information was valuable.

They would have to merely wait, and be patient. This would not be the result of a single battle, but of several.

Now, if only _Leia_ could remember that.

++

It was sooner than he realized that the quick sound of light footsteps echoed in the corridor behind him, and Wilhuff straightened to find Leia advancing through the bridge with some speed. His expression remained passive, but he recognized the stony resolution on her face, the intensity of her dark eyes.

Briefly, he remembered the full strength of Vader’s rage, and silently cursed the Emperor, Darth Vader, and any gods listening for leaving this _girl_ with him.

“Governor Tarkin.”

“Ensign. I said we would debrief once you had recovered.”

“I am not injured. Why would you—“

“That isn’t your decision to make. Return to your quarters and rest.”

“I do not need to _rest_.” The venom in her voice was enough to make the bridge shudder in unison, each officer aware of the treason of Leia’s arrogance and the violence of Tarkin’s response. Their imaginations could be so powerful…

“You cannot make decisions while still in the heat of battle, Leia. Remember our true enemy.”

“We had a chance to close the gap and you prevented me from taking it.”

“I made the decision. And I accept responsibility for the outcome.”

“Why didn’t you let me pursue?”

“You would have been alone. And I would have lost too many good men when they tried to follow you.”

“Do you have such little faith in your own pilots?” Leia leaned forward, her posture predatory, and Wilhuff resisted the urge to respond in kind. Too many officers were watching now. Too many bridge staff had paused, looking at him. Oh, he could have disciplined Leia. He could have beaten this pup so soundly she wouldn’t dare to _whimper_ in his presence. But that would not help her learn, and would not help him reassure his own staff.

However, she had challenged not only him, but his crew. And the insult was one she clearly acknowledged, judging by the proud gleam in her eyes.

“I’m sorry that you’ve been here so long and haven’t learned anything from your time here.” Wilhuff said softly, his even tone a stark contrast to her passion. “I trust my men to make their decisions based on the orders of their commanding officers. They have skills that I lack. And I trusted you to support your own team when they needed your leadership. You betrayed that leadership, Leia. You nearly led them into a firestorm. Perhaps you would have disabled a ship. But for what? To capture another contingent of pirates who would sell out their comrades, just to have the others slip away and change their codes again?”

“You don’t know that would have happened.”

“And you don’t know that you would have succeeded. Battle is not a question of knowledge and probability and certainty. Battle is a question of trust. Of coordination. When I give an order, I need it to be followed. If I can’t trust my commanders to follow an order, then I am not fit to be a moff.”

The bridge had fallen silent now, and Wilhuff watched the intensity of Leia’s glare die out and dampen to the quiver of uncertainty. She would challenge his orders, yes, but she wasn’t ready to come out and claim that he was unfit to be a moff. Claiming that would mean that she disagreed with the Emperor’s decision. And that, he knew, was one of the greatest sins in her adolescent worldview.

“Leia. I think now is the time for you to rest. We will debrief properly once you’ve recovered.” Wilhuff bowed his head, listening for her response rather than watching. Freed from his gaze, Leia could make her decisions more clearly, and Wilhuff smiled as she shuffled into a salute.

“Apologies, sir. I’ll—I’ll return to my quarters.”

“You are dismissed, Ensign.” As Wilhuff straightened, Leia had already disappeared, and Wilhuff let out a held breath as he returned at last to his waiting console. The attention of the bridge was heavier than a suit of formal, ancient armor on his shoulders, but he ignored their questioning glances and focused on his own reports. Leia was an aberration, yes, unusual and not accounted for in the usual Imperial training. But she was a child. A child entrusted with more power than many adults, connected to the Emperor himself, and yet still learning the enormity of that power. She had been placed here as Wilhuff’s subordinate, and he had vowed not to abuse that authority. She had to learn by example, after all.

As Wilhuff finished his summary of the battle, he considered a message to Darth Vader. The young woman was his child, after all, and he would want to know of her status. However, even as Wilhuff considered it, he dismissed the idea. He would not complain to Vader simply because Leia had picked a fight in public. If Vader asked, he would not conceal the fact. But as he had told Leia, in this case it was better to wait. These decisions were not ones to be made in haste. He would wait, and debrief Leia as he originally intended.

Perhaps, at the end of the day, there was something for them both to learn.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A brief mention of suicide, no more than a single line.

Being on planet was always informative. Wilhuff had to admit how much he missed it with the feeling of a planet beneath his feet, the whip of real atmosphere through his hair. He had been an administrator for so long, a leader of people on a planet, that the transition to military life had been tricky. He’d even dismissed most of his bodyguard for this excursion, content to rely on the city’s good reputation. There was no point in stretching their men too thin, after all. 

 

And yet there was Leia, even still. Leia came with him, keeping pace at a perfect 45 degree angle behind him to his right, her aura the heavy weight of intense concentration. She was perpetually focused, perpetually  _ sharp _ , and Wilhuff had the feeling of carrying a handmade dagger, sheathed but sharpened. Palpatine had shared this with him, these brief glimpses into Leia’s training and purpose, but to feel her there was impossible to describe verbally. Wilhuff had no need for a full escort. Leia was there.

 

It was a testament to Wilhuff’s relaxation that he allowed his thoughts to turn to Leia’s father, Darth Vader. Like Leia, Darth Vader was impossible to ignore, but Wilhuff reflected that he never felt the same  _ keenness _ from Vader that he felt from Leia. It was in their ages, certainly. Leia was still young, perhaps too young, and the power she might wield was unfocused and unrefined. Vader was the Emperor’s creature, and he always moved with purpose. Leia was still purposeless. Unguided.

 

The thought made Wilhuff blink in surprise, recognizing the theme as he returned to it. That was why Leia was here. He was yet another voice in her universe to offer guidance and direction, and yet...yet she was a girl. She still had so much yet to learn. Was he guiding her? Or was he merely hemming her in, frustrating her, limiting her? He had no connection to the Force. His tutelage would be limited. 

 

They walked through the city streets, the press of living beings closing around them, and Wilhuff glanced behind him to watch Leia’s reactions. She kept her position close, reacting little, but she too was relaxed without the attention of a full bodyguard squad. They wove through crowds and into residential areas, nonhuman creatures appearing at the edges of the streets and joining the flow of traffic.

 

Wilhuff did his best to navigate, content merely to stretch his legs and consider the rest of his itinerary in the system, but a movement from Leia made him refocus. She  _ flinched _ \--no, it wasn’t quite that extreme. Leia, and Vader, would never flinch from something. But she did draw back, her lip curling, and Wilhuff followed her gaze to where farm animals were tethered around a street corner. A family of shorter beings gathered around, several children speaking in an excited babble, and Wilhuff directed them to a side alley to avoid the crowd. Even as they left, Leia’s eyes remained on the alien group, and Wilhuff waited several long moments before broaching the subject.

 

“There are plenty of worlds with non-human residents. The Empire retains them for their utility.”

 

“Governor Tarkin, it’s incredibly inconvenient when you try to guess what I’m thinking.” Leia fought hard to keep her tone in control, but Wilhuff could still hear the irritation in her voice. Steely, and yet still so untempered by experience.

 

“A privilege reserved for Palpatine, I presume.”

 

“No.” Leia shrugged a shoulder, focusing on the ground ahead of her. “If you wanted to learn more about the Force, you could ask him directly. Though I am sure he’d agree that it would be a waste of your time to investigate.”

 

Wilhuff drew in a breath to respond, then forced himself to pause. He did this often, with Leia. The responses that he could take for granted with Imperial staff were not so straightforward with her.

 

“Ensign, would you like to share what’s on your mind?”

 

Leia hesitated, giving the matter thought. “They have so  _ many _ . Would you call it a brood?”

 

“I’m sure we could check population numbers--”

 

“All from one mother. Isn’t it? A single clutch, or litter, or--whatever. And she lives with all of them, each day, with them hanging off her like leeches.” Leia shook her head, focusing straight ahead once more. “Apologies, Governor. But you did ask.”

 

Wilhuff considered her words, surprised by the direction she’d taken. Family dynamics were a common subject for sociologists, perhaps, and there were divisions within the Empire working to use that knowledge, but they did not concern him. The fact that he hadn’t considered this potential subject indicated just how much she’d deviated from his expectations. 

 

“There are readings on the subject. The biological processes, tied to the hormonal changes in intelligent beings which produce social networks, all these have connections to other features of a civilized society.”

 

“I do not want  _ readings _ .” Again, the intensity in her voice made Wilhuff pause, and he inhaled deeply to refocus the conversation.

 

“You have yet to ask a question, Ensign.”

 

“I do not have a question, Governor.”

 

Wilhuff nodded. “And yet you itch to ask something anyway.”

 

Behind him, Leia remained silent, but her angst was palpable in the very atmosphere, threatening to choke him. Not for the first time, Wilhuff berated Vader and the Emperor for leaving him with  _ her _ .

 

“Permission to speak freely, Ensign.”

 

“I think I would kill myself if I had a child. Let alone  _ several _ .” Leia stumbled, righting herself to shake off the interruption. “It is not a subject I’ve considered often.”

 

“You would--” Wilhuff thought carefully, avoiding a slow-moving transport coming from behind them. “Ensign, I would caution you that this is the  _ last _ thing the Empire would require of you.”

 

“It was required of my father. Whatever else he might have wanted, he still--” Leia shook her head, and Wilhuff could feel the restraint she still tried to maintain. 

 

Stopping short, Wilhuff turned to face Leia more fully, forcing her to face him as they stopped moving. The traffic adjusted to flow around them, leaving them in a bubble of isolation, and Wilhuff watched Leia’s features harden into her usual resolution. She tried  _ so  _ hard, didn’t she. 

 

“Your father was not forced to have you.”

 

“Governor--”

 

“Your father  _ fought _ for you. Do not ignore this. You were allowed on board my ship, you were given a rank, you have been  _ trained _ by your father because of who you are.”

 

“That is Palpatine. You would have been ordered--”

 

“ _ Quiet _ , Ensign.” Wilhuff reached out to put a hand on Leia’s shoulder, countering the harshness of his tone with the weight of his hand. “I am not your father. I cannot speak for him. But I have seen what he does for you. Your father is not a man to take any action lightly.”

 

“There is much I do not understand, Governor.” Her tone was steady and sure, but Wilhuff could feel her tensing under his grip, her muscles bunching. 

 

“Leia--” Even that made her tense again, and Wilhuff felt his stomach clench in response. “Leia. You are much too young, and far too important, to be thinking about children of your own at a time like this. Your role is different.”

 

“But what if I am not? What if I fall prey to some base  _ instinct _ , some hormonal process tied to the biological--”

 

“Leia.” Wilhuff could not be sure what prompted him now, as the dynamics of this conversation were far beyond any Imperial protocols. He used both hands to grip her shoulders, forcing her to look him in the eye. “We are not a product of the things that make us, but a product of who we choose to be. You are an Imperial asset and an Ensign of indeterminate rank, but you are also Leia, the child of Darth Vader and my most valuable aide over the past few months. You will be many things, but you will always be  _ yourself _ . Leave your questions for when the situation arises instead of worrying yourself needlessly.”

 

Leia was quiet, pulling away to escape Wilhuff’s grip. Finally, she turned to face forward again, her shoulders set. “Governor.”

 

“If I need to order you to listen, I will.” Wilhuff tutted to himself, walking more slowly this time as he continued on. “It has been some time since we have last heard from Lord Vader. Perhaps I will message him when we return to the ship. He may have news.”

 

Leia found her position behind him with her usual ease, moving silently through the crowd. “I do not know if your intervention was in the Emperor’s brief, Governor.”

 

“No, likely not. But that does not change the fact that you needed it.” Wilhuff tilted his head once, clasping his hands behind his back. “You are  _ young _ , Ensign. Your situation is unique. I believe a unique approach is necessary for such a...situation.”

 

Leia followed quietly, her tension easing. “I am grateful that it was you who was made the first High Moff, Governor Tarkin.”

 

“As I am grateful, Ensign, that it was you who was assigned to my ship.” Wilhuff smiled to himself, considering the rest of his schedule. “There is a wildlife preserve to the west of the city. I have plans to visit, briefly. I would be intrigued to see whether Lord Vader had developed your training since I was last given a demonstration.”

 

“Oh, I am sure I can find something that might impress.” Leia’s pace did not change, but her voice had regained its strength, making Wilhuff grin outright. She was interesting, always. Never a dull moment. 

 

It made him regret the thought that she would one day leave his ship, and his training. 

  
  



End file.
